Tampering With Time
by InuKag01234
Summary: In the aftermath of the battle, a new story can be told, where InuYasha has new challenges he must face in order to save the lives of those most important to him. (Stand alone story, and also Sequel to Catching One's Breath) inukag mirsan
1. Chapter 1

It was something he just could not quite get used to.

There was the tiniest of smiles on InuYasha's face as he played with a lock of his sleeping wife's hair, whom he lay next to, propping himself up on an elbow.

This simple, easy feeling of gentle wonder continued to take his breath away, this feeling of calming peace that he had not felt in all of his long, painful years.

It was with a twinge of nostalgia he almost half wished he could return to his much younger self not to lose hope, yet, any sort of action around that sort of talk would mean he would have to get up, something he was extremely unwilling to contemplate.

It was far too chilly out there in the fresh, early morning light, and far too comfortable right here for that anyway.

The days at present were still moderately cold, a cold snap has swept through the village only the previous day, bringing icy breezes and frosty mornings like it was still midway through the last moon of winter.

InuYasha's eyes roved around the smallish hut he had completed the week just gone with a certain sense of satisfaction.

It had definately taken him longer than he had expected, with only some of the reasons belonging to the blizzard that had torn through the area that winter, one that brought about one of the heaviest snowfalls in years, according to Kaede.

The rest of these delays, InuYasha had no problem with, however they did broaden his smile.

Their hut was hidden on the very outskirts of the village; InuYasha still wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of being anywhere near any sort of human community, however InuYasha knew it was necessary, despite his protests.

His wish to keep Kagome happy outweighed his discomfort.

And yet, another thing that he was struck by was, though he had literally built this place from the ground up, he still found it a little disconcerting to still have something to his name that was called "home".

His childhood, and everything up until now had required his constant movement, and though he had spent the last few years (the fifty years on Goshinboku notwithstanding) sort of centered around this village, he found it decidedly odd.

But, nonethless, it widened his smile ever so slightly.

'Hmmm,' Kagome stirred, rolling onto her other side, which tugged the lock from between InuYasha's fingers, before scrunching her face up, and opening one eye, then relaxing to peer up at him.

'Good morning,' InuYasha chuckled, watching her look around.

'Ah, good morning.' She responded, rubbing her eyes.

Her voice was thick from sleep, and there was something about it he couldn't help but find a little sexy, and she confirmed this fact by shifting over and cuddling up to him, pressing her cold toes under the arches of his feet. 'It's cold out there.' She murmured. 'Five more minutes.'

'There's all the time in the world.' He responded, pushing a stray hair from her peaceful face, gently tracing down her jawline, marveling slightly once again at her soft skin.

He, of course, being the inquisitive type, had explored every inch of this, and had discovered it to be this soft everywhere, something he also found physically attractive about her.

'Hey, Kagome?' InuYasha said as a thought struck him.

'Hm?' She didn't look up from burying her face in his chest.

'What's "pad tai"?'

'Pad thai?' She frowned slightly. 'It's a dish, sort of like fried rice, but with noodles. Why do you ask?'

'You were muttering about it last night.' He shrugged.

'Oh,' she turned red, peeking up at him. 'What else did you hear?'

He shrugged slightly. 'I got some ideas for our next,' he gave her a meaningful look, trailing off suggestively.

She hid her face again, flushing, but he could tell she was smiling. 'I can't believe I talked about it.'

'You've got an interesting, imagination.' He grinned back.

She laughed nervously, muffled slightly, before sighing, and sitting up, taking the blankets with her.

'Hey!' InuYasha complained, attempting to fend off the chilly outside air as it dashed across his suddenly exposed chest, before he paused.

'Oh InuYasha, don't be such a baby.' She said as she got up, stretching her hands towards the ceiling, and listening to some of her joints pop.

'I'm not a baby.' He replied a little grouchily, crossing his arms, something that caused her to chuckle behind her hand. 'Something funny?'

'No, not at all.' She smiled coyly, and he got up sourly.

'What're you in such a hurry for, anyway?'

'The last of the winter fruits need to be picked before spring.' She said, running her fingers through her hair. 'I'm going with some other women from the village to help with the harvest.' She turned back to smile at him.

The sight brought a grin to his face; Kagome's raven hair spilling over her shoulder as she picked at a particularly scary-looking knot, attempting to pull it apart, which contrasted greatly with his white undershirt that she was wrapped up in, not unlike a very short dressing gown, that quite comfortably reached a tantalizing length below where her wrists would normally hang easily, and as she turned away, back towards the morning light that streamed in through the cracks in the doorway, he could plainly see what it did not quite cover.

'Well that sounds boring.' He said, getting to his feet, approaching her from behind and wrapping his arms around her waist, nosing the collar over her shoulder and resting his cheek against the side of her bare neck.

'I'm sorry if daily life sounds boring to you.' She said in a half-offended tone, but it was decidedly distracted.

'What, it isn't boring to you? Where's the fun?'

'You call almost getting yourself killed, fun?' She shot back.

'It's interesting, isn't it?' He shrugged slightly. 'Better than this crap.'

She raised her eyebrows at him, even though he could not have seen it. 'And you call this,' she gave up on the knot and rested her hands over his. 'Crap?'

'No!' He amended hastily. 'I meant, this crap about harvest, and not doing anything, and just, nothing happening.'

'You're bored?'

'It's boring.' He confirmed, nuzzling her warm, soft skin.

She sighed slightly, only somewhat through exasperation. 'If you're that bored, InuYasha, you could go and check on Kouga's shards?'

He paused momentairily to snort. 'I could just save us the trouble and go and retrieve them. I could even go and kill that mangy wolf in the process.'

She rolled her eyes. 'You are so crude.'

'Who're you calling crude?' He grinned rougishly, his ears twitching.

'I am calling you Crudey McCrude; the crude lord over all cavemen.'

InuYasha frowned, deciding to focus on the only part of that he understood. '"Lord"? You're thinking too highly of me.'

'Oh jeez,' she sighed. 'Never mind.' She unwillingly pried herself loose, leaving his undershirt in his hands, where he pulled his hands through the sleeves, enjoying her lingering scent. 'I really should keep moving though.'

'Can't you just, not turn up today?'

'I promised them, InuYasha.' She smiled, turning and pressing her bare self against his own, trapping his face between her hands and kissing him for a moment. 'So, no.'

He stuck his jaw out disappointedly.

* * *

**Hi all :)**

**It's been a forever, hasn't it?**

**Well, here it is, the sequel to "Catching One's Breath", which can be found under my authored stories. (I haven't actually been on here in so long, fanfiction doesn't allow links to be put onto webpages, do they?) the way we used to do it is www . fanfiction s/8378112/1/ Catching-One-s-Breath**

**While you're there, feel free to have a look at some of my other stories. I've got a few in progress at the moment, so we'll see how that goes.**

**To my first time readers, this can be seen as a stand alone story, if you can't be bothered reading Catching One's Breath, but if you discover that you like my style, the whole thing's finished, done and dusted in my author/stories list thingy anyway(plus the kind-of link is above). **

**To my second time readers, who have just come back from reading CO'sB, welcome back! I hope you're having a good year, and I hope this lives up to your expectations.**

**And to my long-term readers, thanks for sticking with me this long. It's been a blast, and I hope that you continue to read my works into the future.**

**:)**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N, if you're curious about these new characters and need a recap/overview, scroll down to the a/n at the end and I'll fill you in. If not, I'm just diving right in.**_

* * *

'Jeez, InuYasha, If you're out of ideas of things to do already, why don't you go and look for something to do?' Shippou questioned exasperatedly as he stood, rubbing his hands together in the chilly afternoon.

The two were well outside the village, near Goshinboku, where Shippou was attempting to replenish his stock of acorns, through stealing from the burrowed stores of the woodland creatures.

'You think I hadn't already thought of that?' InuYasha shot back, from the leafless branches of a nearby tree where he was lounging.

Shippou snorted. 'Are you seriously sick of this, InuYasha? You finally get to stop running, and you say you want to start again?'

'Well, not, running, just, something interesting to happen?'

'Jeez.' Shippou said. 'You could go and work with the village men on whatever they're doing.'

InuYasha knew that was a bad idea before he even had to think about it. 'Hmph.' He rolled from the tree, landing nimbly on his feet on the half-frozen ground, stuffing his hands in his sleeves.

Shippou barely took note of this, nor of how the hanyou strolled off, with a sour look on his face.

* * *

'Sango, I know you want to help, but I'm not going to let you.' Kagome said, her arms stretched as she barred the demon slayer from passing to where the other women were moving around.

'But, Kagome,' Sango complained, peering around her to see the rest of the yet unpicked fruit. 'I'm sure I can help.'

Kagome's eye roved downwards, over the more than slightly rounded stomach of her friend. 'You should be taking it easy.'

Sango's hands went to her swollen abdomen, but she rolled her eyes. 'You sound like Miroku, he's been mothering me ever since he found out.'

'With good reason, Sango. Twins, remember?'

'I know, I know, but if they're any children of mine, they'll be tough. I'm sure they can handle me doing some work.' Sango sighed.

'Do you really want to risk it?' Kagome questioned, immovable from her stance, looking rather impressive in her miko outfit, the stern look in her eyes.

'It'll be fine.' She dismissed.

There was a rustling behind them, something that Sango caught sight of out of the corner of her eye, and though Kagome did not see, Sango's trained senses took notice.

'I'm pretty sure Miroku would kill me if I let you.' Kagome continued.

Sango had completely disregarded the conversation by this point, suddenly noticing how far away the other women seemed from them.

'Are you listening to me?' Kagome stated. 'No picking.'

'Kagome,' Sango cautioned, her hand landing on her friends elbow.

'What?' Kagome followed Sango's line of sight toward the suddenly silent shrubs. 'Is someone there?'

The shrubs were silent for a moment more, before they parted, and a man appeared before the two women. 'Is that you, priestess Kagome?'

Kagome turned properly to face him, her hands raised. 'That's me, and who are you?'

The guy was vaguely grubby, but he was wearing what appeared to be a warrior's uniform, with dark green shoulder plates and a brown chest plate, a katana strapped across his back, where the handle could plainly be seen over his shoulder.

'Don't you remember me? I'm wounded.' He said, approaching the two.

'Hold on, aren't you,' Sango spoke up, and the fellow looked at her.

'Don't worry about it, Ukyo, it's-' The person did a double-take, frowning. 'Ukyo? What are you doing here? You should be at home, resting. And why are you dressed like a peasant?'

Kagome tapped the side of her fist to her open palm. 'You're, that prince, right?'

Prince Akihigo drew himself up. 'That's right, Prince Akihigo. Might I just say it took quite a bit of trouble for me to track you down, priestess Kagome?'

Kagome suddenly found herself wishing she hadn't left her bow and arrows at home. 'And what was it you wanted with me?' She said, forcing herself to sound more sure than she was.

Akihigo sighed. 'When you left as suddenly as you did,' he ignored the expression of great irritation that her face pulled, her hands balling into fists, 'I found myself a little lonely without you.' He raised his own hands into an exaggerated apologetic shrug. 'I was pretty sure that a priestess such as yourself couldn't possibly be harmed in any sort of way from the river, so I took it upon myself to find you once more to make sure that you were alright.'

'You bastard,' Sango said, 'you nearly killed her!'

'Princess Sakura, what a thing to say. I'm sure Father will have words with you when we return.' Akihigo said surprisedly.

'For the last time, I'm not Ukyo Sakura! We just look the same!' Sango snapped. 'And if we hadn't rescued her, she would have died!'

'"We"?' Kagome questioned over her shoulder at her friend.

Sango shrugged slightly. 'That's not the point here.' She returned.

'Well my thanks that you took it upon yourself to save her,' Akihigo bowed greatly, before looking back at Kagome. 'It is thanks to your friend here that we can be happy together.'

'What!?' Kagome exclaimed.

'Priestess Kagome, I humbly request,' the look in his eyes, and the grin on his face, however, was not at all humble, 'that you return to my castle with me to become my companion and wife.'

Kagome's eyes became very wide, she was in a deep state of shock.

'I can only assume you have remained pure to your vows as a priestess, a shrine maiden no less, and with only that as a dowery I shall accept you.' He straightened, his expression not changing one bit.

Kagome, having finally done her research, broke from her trance laughing, doubling over and holding her stomach in her mirth.

'What's so funny?' Akihigo questioned, frowning, as he looked around to see even Sango was chuckling.

'In the four months since we met,' Kagome managed, 'I,' she had to puase to wipe tears from her face, 'I've,'

'Sango?' Came a voice from behind them. 'So this is where you've been hiding.'

Sango started greatly and span, to see Miroku sauntering through the trees behind them, Shippou beside him.

'Damn,' Sango muttered. 'He found me.'

'Hey, monk.' Akihigo shot darkly. 'Though I might be grateful for the great deed you have done for my sister, I would ask that you kindly stand aside.'

Miroku frowned, gazing at the man, for a long, suspenseful moment.

'Oh, right! I remember who you are now.' The beginning of his sentence was bright, but it turned deadly. 'You're the one who took Sango.'

He strode over, and planted himself solidly in front of both Kagome and his wife, Shippou wordlessly leaping into Kagome's arms.

Akihigo frowned at him. 'I did no such thing, I don't know what you're talking about.'

* * *

InuYasha was tastelessly striding through the forrest, listening to half-frozen grass crackle beneath his bare feet, the smell of cold rain and melted snow permeating the forrest around him, before a familiar scent blew across his path.

He turned back behind him, to see a boy racing towards him, his legs pumping, his face desperate.

'Sho?'

* * *

**Alright, to anyone who's wondering.**

**The backstory is (as read in Catching One's Breath), in the process of travelling, Sango was kidnapped through a reason of mistaken identity. Some soldiers thought she was the Princess Ukyo Sakura, from a somewhat nearby castle. They took her back to the castle, where she was to be married to another prince (the princess's been betrothed since birth to this guy). So in order to get her back, Miroku and Kagome stall for time at the castle while InuYasha goes and finds the real princess. However the Princess Sakura's younger brother, Akihigo, took a liking to Kagome (hitting on her in an eternally creepy manner that Kagome dodges as best she could). While InuYasha and Miroku perform the switch back (Ukyo for Sango), Kagome is hiding elsewhere from Akihigo, but he tracks her down. In the process of being creepy/sleazy, Kagome accidently falls into a river and goes over a waterfall, nearly drowning. InuYasha rescues her, saving her life, with Sango nearby.**

**Sho's backstory is a little more complicated, so we'll keep it (painfully) simple. (Seriously, go read Co'sB, Sho's my favourite charater.) Sho's a boy of about eleven or twelve, and has wavering powers of clairvoyance. That's all that's necessary for reading this story, but there is more (like he has a cute little sister, and very interesting parents) that can be read back in Co'sB. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading! And thanks to Cagome, for your review. I'm hoping this lives up to your expectations, I worked hard on this one!**


	3. Chapter 3

'Kagome!'

InuYasha burst onto the scene, Sho clinging to his back like a monkey, to discover it to to be a scene indeed.

Miroku, looking murdurous, had Akihigo by his chest plate against a tree, who had blood streaming down his face from his obviously broken nose, Miroku's spare fist was raised.

There was a medium-length blade half-buried in the grass behind them, as well as Miroku's shakujo, scarily close to another soldier, who was out cold.

However Sango, clearly sporting bruises, was painfully crouching before Kagome's limp form, who was curled tightly on her side, clearly in a lot of pain.

InuYasha saw red.

'You're gonna pay for this!' He seized the prince from Miroku's grip and threw him to the ground, before stepping on him, between the shoulderblades, leaning heavily on that foot.

'Hey! Hey!' Akihigo exclaimed, struggling greatly, like a bug under the shadow of a great boot. 'What are you doing, demon!? Get off of me!'

'What did you do?' InuYasha said, his tone like a glacier.

'What do you have to do with any of this? I have done nothing to you!'

InuYasha ignored him, however. 'What exactly did you do to Kagome? Anything you did, I'll repay tenfold.'

Akihigo started to whimper slightly. 'I didn't do anything! It was purely self-defense!'

'He cursed her, InuYasha,' Miroku said angrily from behind him, before addressing the arrogant prince. 'You have no idea of the curse you cast, do you!?'

'It was self defense, I assure you!' Akihigo responded stubbornly.

'Are you serious?' InuYasha was startled, but then his footprint became that much deeper. 'What exactly sort of curse are we talking about here?'

Behind them, Sho took on a look of clairvoyance, a soft, white light emitting from him for a short moment, and he frowned greatly. 'Kill him, InuYasha.' He said sharply, and the hanyou looked back at him.

'What?'

'Hey, idiot,' Sho addressed the prince, but InuYasha glanced upwards at the boy, who was striding over, 'that curse was something that was only meant for incredibly powerful demons and daiyoukai, you know that fully well.' He crouched before him, just out of arms reach. 'What on earth could have possessed you to use it on a human being?'

InuYasha shifted his stance, and Akihigo leapt to his feet, already dashing for his sword.

'InuYasha, if you want the priestess to live, you have to kill him!' Sho exclaimed as the prince hefted the blade from the ground.

InuYasha spared a glance back at his wife, to see the sweat standing out on her face.

He looked back in time to see Akihigo moving for the attack, and he easily dodged the swinging sword, landing a neat left hook to the prince's jaw, causing him to stumble.

'She was supposed to be mine!' Akihigo said, turning in what was clearly supposed to be a neat little turn, but was far too showy, and InuYasha easily stopped the offending blade with one forearm, sending another fist under his jaw, causing him to stumble backwards. 'Why on earth would she refuse?'

'_Yours_?'

'I was only going to take her with me back to the castle!' Akihigo exclaimed. 'As a bride!'

'You can't do that!' InuYasha shot back. 'She's mine!'

'She's, what?' Akihigo stumbled.

'That's right!' Shippou suddenly burst from his hiding place amongst the trees, and the prince started greatly. 'InuYasha and Kagome got married three weeks ago, during the last snowfall!'

InuYasha flushed red, threatening a fist at the kitsan. 'Shaddap!'

'You, you did what?' Akihigo on the other hand, had gone pastey white. 'I'll have your head!' He shouted, raising his sword once more.

InuYasha, on the other hand, swung the side of his fist like lightening, which collided with the side of the prince's head with a sickening crunch that sent him flying, where he collided with a solid-looking tree some ten feet away with a sound like a breaking branch.

Akihigo slumped, and hit the ground, silent and unmoving, his head at an odd angle, and a splatter of blood where he had collided with the tree.

'Is, he dead?' Shippou asked.

'Yes.' Sho replied, as Miroku approached the lifeless body, before pausing, and standing again.

'He won't be bothering us again.' The monk confirmed.

InuYasha, however, had turned on his heel and rushed over to Kagome's side, with Sho on his heels, pausing only to whack Shippou on the head on the way past.

'Hey!' Shippou complained, and was ignored. 'What was that for?'

'Sho?' Sango said suddenly, as if only then noticing the boy. 'What are you doing here?'

Sho, however, ignored her. 'This was not supposed to happen.' He said gravely, looking up at InuYasha.

'What do you mean?' Miroku questioned, and Sho looked terribly displeased.

'InuYasha, if she dies now, she won't be born in the future, and the world will be destroyed.'

'That's a little hard-core, don't you think?' Shippou said. 'Why won't she be born? And what do you mean, the world will be destroyed?'

Sho sighed. 'Because she's one of the very, very few who is her own decendant and ancestor.'

'How can she be cured?' InuYasha snapped, looking over his agonized wife.

'Our only chance is to find Tsukuyomi-Kamisama's temple to the far north and ask for her cure.'

'Tsukuyomi-Kamisama? Goddess of the moon?' Miroku said.

Sho nodded, as InuYasha gathered Kagome up. 'Right. Sho, you're coming with us.'

'I know.' He said, clinging onto InuYasha's back while he was still crouched, gathering up Kagome as gently as he could manage.

'I'm coming too.' Sango said, getting to her feet.

'No,' InuYasha said gravely, standing. 'I can do this. You two stay here, you have your own family to worry about.'

Sho nodded, overruling Sango's complaint. 'Not to be blunt,' he said bluntly, 'but it's only supposed to be InuYasha. If you two tag along, both the priestess,' he pointed at Sango, 'you, and your unborn kids will die.' Sango's hand flew to her mouth. 'The chances are slim enough as it is. I'm sorry, but you have to stay here.' He looked around at InuYasha. 'Let's go.'

'Right.' InuYasha said, as Shippou leapt to his shoulder.

InuYasha made to shake him off, but Sho seized the fox demon by the scruff of his neck.

'No, he can come.'

'Fine.' InuYasha said, pushing off, moving as if there was no weight at all holding him down, leaving Sango and Miroku behind.

'What do you mean,' Shippou asked as they pelted along, 'Kagome is her own ancestor and decendant?'

Sho sighed slightly. 'She's travelling through time, right?'

'Right...'

'Well when she came back in time, she's starting her own ancestry. There are no family members before now, and the children she has will start her family into the future. So she's basically her own great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great,' he puased to take a breath; 'great, great, great, great, great, great gramdmother.'

'"Basically?"' Shippou questioned sarcastically, but InuYasha missed a step.

'"Ch-, _children_"?' InuYasha swallowed, paling slightly. 'As in,' he paused, 'short, young, humans?'

'Well, they'd be quarter demons, like me, but simply put, yes.'

InuYasha glanced down at the girl in question, and sped up. 'You know where we're going, right?'

'Yes.' Sho said. 'It'd normally take three weeks of hard travelling, but if you're up for it, InuYasha, if you don't stop at all, which you mustn't, you can get there in four days.'

'I'll make it in three.' The hanyou said with a deadly tone.

'I have faith in you.' Sho responded.

* * *

**Another chapter, and we're getting into the good bits. **

**Just like with the previous novel, this story is heavily based on Japanese Shinto Mythology quite strongly, so if you're feeling curious about any of the major characters coming up, feel free to look them up. There are however a few slight modifications, such as in the original mythology, Tsukuyomi-kamisama is male, as well as all the "present day" things that are happening with them (you'll figure it out next chapter) are things of my creation. **

**Anyway, please review, and let me know what you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

InuYasha had never pushed himself so hard in his life.

Those three days felt like they were the longest three days of his life.

Three days of avoiding risks and moving ever faster.

Days of moving through forrest area, which eventually broke on the eve of the second day into pasture land, where InuYasha inadvertently scared years off of a group of chickens he was passing.

Halfway through that night he came across the scent of a moderately strong demon that was headed in the direction of the nearby village, but be barely took any notice, nor of Sho's sleepy explanation of how the men of that village would inadvertently take it down.

It seemed as if much more time had passed that night than was true, until the sun finally rose on that third morning, to discover he was racing along the precariously rocky edge of a mile-high cliff, somewhere in the far north, further than he had been in years.

This area was steadily getting colder, as he was chasing at the tail-feathers of winter, as it continued its path north to where it would be endlessly cold.

During this, Kagome did not awaken from her agonized sleep for the entire three days.

And it was only at the end of this that InuYasha found himself staring up at an empty cliff.

'Are you sure about this, Sho?'

'Just trust me.'

'Alright then,' He said, shifting Kagome slightly in his arms, and leaping straight upwards.

The air before him wavered, shimmered, then broke, revealing an opening four feet wide directly above him, where a sight to be seen was there to behold.

A temple revealed itself, purest white down to the wooden framework, as if it was looking out towards the moon.

'Right,' InuYasha said as the landed neatly on the precipice. 'What now?'

'Go inside. Tsukuyomi-no-Kamisama's subordinates will already know we're here.'

He stepped up towards the main entrance, where the snow-coloured doors swung open to meet him, revealing an equally white hall, and two young girls bowing deeply in pure white yukatas.

They seemed to be exactly identical twins, the only slight difference between them was one wore an incredibly delicate-looking, softest baby pink flower comb in her hair, and the others was yellow.

'We have been expecting you.' They said, in perfect synchronisation.

Sho leapt from InuYasha's back, and bowed in return. 'We have come to ask a favour.'

'You are Sho-kun,' Said one.

'Are you not?' Finished the other.

Sho frowned slightly. 'That I am. Quarter demon, son of Hideaki, the half-demon. This is-'

'You are InuYasha, Shippou and Kagome.' They smiled at them.

Though they had the human appearance of a small child, a cold, cold chill stole its way up InuYasha's spine.

'You came,-' One started.

'-to ask about a favour?' The other questioned.

'Yes, we have come to pray for a cure to Raijin's Curse.'

_Pray?_ InuYasha threw the boy a sharp look.

Praying usually involved deities and gods, and InuYasha didn't look too lightly upon deities, and it seemed gods didn't look too lightly upon him.

'To Tsukuyomi-Kamisama, we assume?' Said one girl.

'Would you really do us that favour?' Said the other.

'What do you mean?' InuYasha said, refusing to sit when Sho did, as well as refusing to set Kagome down, despite the fact his knees were shaking slightly.

'Yes, of course.' Sho said.

'Tsukuyomi-Kamisama has been imprisoned for the last thousand years.' They said simultaneously.

'If you rescue her for us,-'

'-We will grant any wish you desire.'

InuYasha stole a glance at the girl in his arms. 'Fine then.' He said, cutting off what Sho was about to say. 'If I rescue this Tsukuyomi-Kamisama, she'll cure Kagome, right?'

'Yes.' Said the two girls, but they exchanged a look. 'However, we must ensure that you understand what you are taking on. Tsukuyomi-no-Kamisama has been imprisoned by Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of evil and of the stars. You must know that this is no easy task.'

'Many have tried,-'

'-many have failed.'

'That's fine!' InuYasha responded shortly, his eyes wandering back down to Kagome. 'Anything, as long as you can guarantee you can save her.'

Sho looked back at him concernedly.

'Very well.' They said, standing. 'We will hold you to your word.'

'And I'm holding you to yours.' InuYasha shot back.

They smiled, approaching him.

'As it were, the priestess here would not survive the night, Hiku.' Said the girl with the yellow flower quietly.

'Indeed, Osu. We must do something to remedy this, if we are expected to be held to our word.' Agreed the girl with the pink flower.

'Osu and Hiku?' Shippou said. '"Push" and "Pull"?'

'Yes, little kitsan.' They smiled at him, and he cowered, before turning their attention back on InuYasha, or more specifically, Kagome.

'Hanyou InuYasha, we ask to take this priestess into our care.' Their eyes did not leave the girl.

'Fine.' InuYasha did not look pleased with it.

Kagome in his hands glowed brightly for a moment, before she was carefully lifted from him by an unseen force that was clearly guided by the hands of the two girls.

'We will cause her to sleep.' Hiku said as they carried her back to where they had previously been seated.

'So she does not feel pain.' Osu finished, as they lay her down.

The agonized screams she seemed to awake with as the two girls forced her to lay flat InuYasha knew would haunt him forever.

But with this, his resolve hardened, and his hands stopped with their quivering, such was his determination to save her.

'We are surprised she lasted this long.' Osu said.

'The pain must be agony.' Hiku finished, and it tore at InuYasha's heart.

Together, the two girls, at either end of the priestess, clapped their hands together, and Kagome slumped.

Sweat stood out on their foreheads as they spoke soundlessly, both an exact mirror image of the other, and a startlingly blue barrier formed like liquid between them, encasing the girl in a pusating shell.

This held for a few long seconds, while the two girls produced chalk from their sleeves, and drew an intricate symbol on the floor exactly where the two points of the shield resided, and InuYasha found himself holding his breath.

Hiku and Osu took a breath, and smiled back at him, leaving their positions, where the barrier still continued to pulse, not unlike a heartbeat.

* * *

**New characters, and creepy ones at that. **

**Hope you like it!**


	5. Chapter 5

'Alright, InuYasha.' Hiku spoke, however despite her addressing, the two shikigami seemed to dismiss the hanyou's presence, instead opting to move towards the shrine that was arranged at the rear wall of the room behind which Kagome had been placed.

'We can only give you one tool.' Osu said, as they bowed their heads for a moment, before retrieving an object from the pedestal of the shrine.

Behind the shrine, where a monument, or statue would normally be placed, there was simply an open window to the outside, where a dark sky could be seen through the moonlight streaming inwards, despite it being near to mid-morning.

'What?' InuYasha said suspiciously, slipping into a subtle, defensive stance.

They presented him with what seemed to be a necklace, one with a stone on it, which was powder-grey and round, with a single swirl upon it.

'What's this?' He responded, not taking the mysterious necklace from the girls, placing his hands carefully behind his back when the two tried to push the stone into them.

'So your presence can be hidden.' The two girls said. 'You will only be detected if you are seen.'

InuYasha frowned speculatively at it, his thoughts turning back to the last necklace he had been forced into, which suddenly felt decidedly heavier around his neck. 'How easily does it come off?' He fired off, dodging another pressing attack.

'Well,' Osu started.

'Only we,' Hiku continued.

'Tsukuyomi-Kamisama,'

'And yourself,'

'Can take it off.' The two finished together.

'Are you sure?' InuYasha carefully looked between their unsettilingly neutral faces.

'Yes.' They replied, and being unable to figure out if they were lying or not, he gave up.

'Fine.' He said, taking it from them and slipping it around his neck.

'However, we must warn you of two things.' They spoke up, and he flinched slightly.

'One,' Hiku said, 'Under absolutely no circumstances, can you confront Amatsu-Mikaboshi. His power is too great for the likes of you.'

'Two,' Osu said, before InuYasha could speak, his jaw sticking out stubbornly, 'However, the spell we have cast will not last the priestess Kagome for forever. You will have until the first cherry blossom falls to rescue our beloved Kamisama, or the barrier will fail, and the girl Kagome will be left to suffer through a most excruciating death.'

'So you will have three days.' The two said together, lacing their fingers together and watching him carefully. 'Are you ready?'

_I should've made that idiot prince Akihigo suffer more._ InuYasha thought darkly, cracking his knuckles. 'I'm ready.'

Their chalk appeared again, and they drew an intricate circle around him, one with designs that seemed far to complex to follow with simple eyes, InuYasha could only watch with amazement as they skillfully and symetrically drew around him.

'Good luck, InuYasha.' Sho said, crossing his arms and grinning at him with shining blue eyes. 'I have faith in you.'

'Go for it!' Shippou agreed, baring his fox teeth in a matching grin. 'I won't forgive you if you fail!'

'Whaddya take me for, you runt?' InuYasha could feel himself filling with chargin. 'I'm gonna rescue this Tsukuyomi, and-'

'That's _kamisama_ to you,' one of the shikigami cut him off, InuYasha had lost track of which was which. They both gave their tracing a hard look.

'Fine, fine, Tsukuyomi-_kamisama_, and be back before you know it so that she can help Kagome.'

'Right.' Shippou agreed. 'We'll protect Kagome with our lives on this end.' He beat a fist against his chest. 'Nothing's going to get past me; I'm going to summon all my strength.' He explained confidently.

Sho nodded, his eyes turning inward momentairily. 'The chances of anything finding us here are very slim. We should be fine, as long as you get back in time.'

'We are the shikigami of Tsukuyomi-kamisama. Rest assured that nothing will step into our temple without our concent, or the concent of Our Lady.' The two girls said decisivly. 'You should be more concerned about your own safety, so that you may complete your task.'

There was a flash of brightest light behind him; the circle was completed.

'Alright then!' Hiku said, getting to her feet.

'Let's do this!' Osu said, brushing chalk off her purest white kimono.

They shifted to stand either side of him and clapped their hands together, once again in simultanious prayer.

They murmured quietly, their voices whispering stirs in the air around them, causing what seemed like a subtle alteration in reality.

InuYasha could sense movement, somewhere or somehow, but he found himself rooted to the ground and unable to move.

A breath of air hushed in through the open window, and lightly swept its way through the room, over the pedestal to the goddess of the moon, over the pulsing barrier of the sleeping priestess, and over the hardwood floor, around the ankles of those present, it seemed to be drawn by the chalk circles at the hanyou's feet.

Suddenly he looked down, to see his extremeties seemed to be breaking down, like a jigsaw puzzle behing pulled apart piece by piece.

His hands, feet and the tips of his ears were rapidly disappearing, and wherever they were disappearing to, it felt like they were being pulled by a wind that threatened to tear him apart.

Quickly his wrists and ankles disappeared into the invisible vortex, as well as the tip of his sword and his hair, which crept up his limbs at an increasing rate.

His eyes turned towards the shikigami in alarm, however they took no notice of him in their chanting.

His gaze locked onto the blue barrier once again, where Kagome lay waiting, but just as the eroding reached his chin, something dragged his gaze over to Sho.

Then, before InuYasha had the chance to react, the eroding completed, and he had the distinct feeling he was moving very fast, but he couldn't seem to decide which direction this travelling was heading.

Sho, whose powers of the future never failed to astound, thanks to his godlike heratige, had glowed a soft, white light for a moment, clarvoiency dashing across his eyes, and the last thing InuYasha saw in that world was the boys smile faltering.

* * *

**Sorry about that little break, I lost track of time and just didn't have time to update. But, here you go, and I'll try to be a little more regular at from this point. **

**I went back over this chapter and realized it was only something like four hundred words long, so I pulled up my sleeves and fleshed it out a little, and I think it's better because of it. **

**But, anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, (let me know if you loved it :3 ).**


	6. Chapter 6

InuYasha found himself being put back together just outside what could only be described as a castle, hidden inside some strange looking foliage.

Most of the plants were unrecognisable, none of them had anything close to a resemblance to a plant that he knew bar one, the ever-familiar tree behind him.

He turned to see the buds of the cherry blossoms, only just about to bloom.

The castle had walls that seemed to be massively thick, with corners that seemed to make it, InuYasha hazarded a guess at a pentagram, being the closest thing to impenitrible that InuYasha had ever seen.

Above it, InuYasha could just see the points of the inner castle, which seemed to be free-standing from the outer walls, and he suddenly noticed he was going to need every second of those three days.

Carefully, silently, he navigated the heavy stone walls, sticking mostly to the dense shrubbary and rocky ground, to discover his guess about the shape to be more than likely correct.

It wasn't long before he stumbled upon what could only have been the main entrance to the castle, a massive stone bridge that spanned the ditch that ran alongside, a tiny stream tricklng through it.

Hanging back in the shadows, he peered closely at the two people who were entering; two men.

The taller of which wore black and purple formal attire, he had long black hair that was pulled up into a high ponytail, and was very pale.

The shorter man had a stormy grey and white attire, and a shock of short, white hair that was messy to the point of standing on end.

They seemed to be deep in conversation as they entered, the gates to the entrance opening smoothly and shutting just as smoothly behind them.

It was with startling suddenness and speed that those gates rose completely, paused while the two men passed, then slammed shut with almost surprising smoothness and a _clang_.

'Hmm,'

InuYasha made to lean against the stone wall, but found his hand stopped.

He frowned slightly, looking around, to discover he was unable to get any less than an inch closer to the wall, with some sort of solid, invisible force preventing him.

Carefully, he reached upward to get his fingers between the cracks of the stones, to discover the barrier to be seamless, giving him no chance of a grip onto the wall, and he sighed slightly.

_Of course it wouldn't be that easy._

He looked around again, and with careful stealth he made his way back over to the tree-line.

It wasn't long for InuYasha to find a conveniantly placed tree with almost unusually long branches, where he settled surrounded by budding cherry-blossoms, his eyes on the entrance to the castle, his mind turning to how he could possibly get in.

However, that train of thought wandered slightly, as he wondered where on earth he could possibly be.

* * *

It was still mid-afternoon when he woke from his fitful nap, and sunlight was streaming in around him.

His immediate thoughts dwindled back to the dream he'd been having, or rather replaying memories, of that morning before all of this had started.

And he noticed, with some nostalgia, he hadn't told Kagome he loved her before she left.

However he started greatly when he realized there was someone waiting in the clearing that his tree rimmed the edge of.

Unable to disappear without detection, he peered over the branch next to him to look at her, at least, suddenly grateful for the charm he'd been given.

She had decidedly god-like beauty, her long, sunflower yellow hair straight as sunlight beams, and her sky-blue eyes were wandering up at the heavens above her.

She had the slightly tanned skin of someone who spent time in the sun, her features were soft, gentle and slender, and she was humming gently, her delicate hands spread behind her as she gazed upwards towards the stars, hidden slightly by the flowing, gentle yellow robes that she wore.

_Who is she?_ InuYasha wondered as he hid, trying to soundlessly make himself as small as possible.

'Ho, hum,' she murmured, her voice like honey, her gaze drifting to the scenery around her, and catching on the cherry-blossom tree that InuYasha himself had taken residence.

With a small smile, she placidly lifted one hand, and with a tiny snap a cherry blossom bud flew down to meet her upward-facing fingertip, where it paused for a moment, and hovering delicately it bloomed with simple beauty.

The young woman caught it between her fingers, her smile broadining, before she set it into her hair.

'Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami!' Came a voice from behind them, and a tall, broad shouldered man appeared through the trees.

This man could only be described as a warrior, through and through.

He was dark-haired, had a square jaw, and was wearing a grey warrior's uniform, right down to the sword at his hip, and the leather sandals on his feet.

'Hachiman-shin.' Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami said, getting to her feet and brushing her robes off. 'I was not expecting to see you.'

'Well, I have been searching for you. What are you doing here, by Amatsu-Mikaboshi's castle?'

'Nothing, nothing.' She looked at him. 'What are you doing out here? I should hope that you are not here to antagonise Amatsu-Mikaboshi?' She turned her statement into a question.

'No, actually.' Hachiman-shin replied, his face softening. 'I was looking for you.'

'Me?'

'I thought you might like to know that a being slipped through the barrier between the mortal realm and this one a little earlier today.'

'Really?'

Hachiman-shin nodded. 'Yes. I was just making sure you were aware.'

Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami smiled. 'You don't have to be so formal with me, you know.' She patted his elbow.

'But it is not proper, Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami.'

'You are a god too, remember?'

He nodded. 'I know, but I still think the proper formalities are necessary.'

She sighed audibly, obviously looking for a new point of conversation. 'The weather is simply lovely today, is it not?'

His mouth formed a grim line. 'Well I do hate to ask it of you, but would you be willing to return to the palace?'

'Oh, must I?' She said disappointedly, standing, and he raised his hands haltingly.

'Hold on, I'm sure your duties can wait for another few more minutes,' he said, 'would you like me to wait with you?'

She smiled at him. 'No, I could not ask it of you, Hachiman-shin. You go on ahead, I will catch up with you shortly.'

He looked at her fondly for a moment, before regaining what could only have been his usual seriousness as he strode away, in the direction of the path that lead from the main gate to the castle behind them.

InuYasha was silent for the longest moment, his ears trained on the sound of Hachiman-shin's footsteps as they slowly changed from the footsteps over loose folage, and onto rocky gravel, then after what felt like an eternity as he hesitated there, he continued walking, slowly fading.

'I know you're there,' Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami said, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and making InuYasha nearly leap from his skin.

* * *

**Moving forward into the realm of the gods is always fun, isn't it, InuYasha? :P**

**Anyway, review if you like. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

InuYasha was silent, carefully shifting out of sight, hoping she would dismiss whatever sign she had picked up of him.

'You must be pretty good for Hachiman-san to not notice you.' Ameratsu-Ō-Mi-Kami continued, approaching his tree.

It was at this point he realized he had been caught, even though he wasn't entirely sure how, and he swung lightly from his branch, landing deep in the shadows of the tree.

She smiled. 'I'm not going to harm you.'

'Prove it.' InuYasha finally spoke up, his hand on his sword, his golden eyes blazing.

She started slightly, then chuckled. 'So there was someone there,' she said.

And that, was when he wanted to facepalm.

'How did you know I was there?' He questioned, and she shrugged gracefully.

'Call it woman's intuition.'

_Damn it._ 'Who are you?'

She turned and sat back down on the soft grass where she had been sitting with a smile. 'I am Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami, goddess of the sun, daughter of Izanagi-No-Mikoto.' She said. 'But you can call me Amaterasu.' She cocked her head slightly. 'And who might you be?'

He shifted a little uncomfortably, unsure how to react. 'I'm InuYasha.'

'Alright, InuYasha, and what might you be doing here in Takamagahara?' She questioned easily. 'And why is it I can sense nothing about you?'

'"Takamagahara"?' He questioned. 'Is that where this is?'

'Oh, don't tell me you came here by accident?' She returned gently, chuckling. 'I can return you to Oyashi-Ma-Kuni if you like.' She raised her hands, but he cut her off.

'No!' He said, then hesitated. 'I think, this is where I'm supposed to be. I'm guessing that up there,' he nodded up at the castle behind him, without dragging his gaze away from her, 'is Amatsu-Mikaboshi's castle?'

'Yes.' She said. 'What are you doing here?'

He paused, unsure as to how much he should reveal.

'Oh, don't worry,' she smiled, 'I don't really care for Amatsu-Mikaboshi's matters, outside of my sister.'

'Your sister?'

'Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, my sister, goddess of the moon. Both she and I, as well as our brother Susanoo-no-Mikoto were all created by the washing of our father, Izanagi-no-Mikoto's face as he was cleansing himself after leaving his wife in Yomi.' She waved it away. 'But it's old news, father died long ago, and no one has seen him since.'

'I met him last autumn.' InuYasha disagreed.

Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami's eyes widened. 'You did? Did he look well?'

InuYasha had to shrug slightly.

It was sort of difficult to chat to someone who was a thousand feet tall. 'He looked fine.'

She frowned. 'What was father doing in Oyashi-Ma-Kuni?'

'Oyashi-Ma-Kuni?'

'You know, earth, where you mortals reside.'

'Oh, right. Well he was stopping Izanami-no-Mikoto from returning from Yomi.' He said easily, and she paled, covering her mouth with one hand.

'Oh, how dreadful,' she said. 'Do, come out from there and tell me about it.'

He emerged slightly, standing on the very edge of the shade, his stance not relaxing, however he did shift his grip from his sword.

'It, got a little complex.'

'Well then, you must return with me to my palace and tell me about it for the next few hundred years.' She said whimsically, and he flinched.

'I can't do that.' He said guardedly, unwilling to anger a goddess who despite her smiling air was watching him with eyes more piercing than Kagome's arrows.

'Oh? Why not?'

'I've been given a deadline.'

'A deadline? Whatever for?'

'I have to have,' he hesitated, 'completed my task, before the first cherry blossom falls in three days.'

She waved an airy hand. 'Well if that's the case, I shall simply cause the blossoms to fall, right here and now, and whoever is holding you to this can throw their tantrum in peace. I sense a good story here, and my wish is that you tell me.'

He paled greatly, and rushed to her, pinning her clearly preparing arms to her sides. 'No!' He exclaimed. 'You can't do that!'

'Why ever not?' She blinked at his sudden closeness. 'Oh my,'

'Because if you do, she will die.' He swallowed.

'You're a mortal demon, are you not?'

'Do not cause those blossoms to fall before their time.' He said with a deadly tone. 'Goddess or not, you'll have me to answer to if you do.'

She sighed. 'Fine, fine,' she said. 'You have my word.'

He reluctantly released her.

'What exactly is your business here?' She said carefully.

'It's a long story.' He said, turning to face the castle, his face grim.

'Give me the short version then.'

He sighed slightly, looking back at her. 'It's my, wife.' He could not help the slight flush that reached up from his jaw. 'If I don't rescue your sister Tsukuyomi-Kamisama, from Amatsu-Mikaboshi, then my wife will die.'

Amaterasu went very quiet, her hands folding in her lap, her eyes growing distant. 'I see.'

A gentle breeze picked up, swirling the grass around them for a long, pregnant moment.

'Tell me, InuYasha,' Amaterasu spoke up. 'What's your wife's name?'

'...Kagome.' InuYasha replied hesitantly.

'"Shining light", how beautiful.' She said. 'How about this, when you've rescued my sister, I shall grant both you and this Kagome longevity, so that you can return here with her, and you can tell me your story from the beginning.'

He stared at her wordlessly.

'That would be the favour repaid, so that I can make up for the fight we had, before all of this happened.' A tear ran down her face, and above them, the sun went behind a cloud. 'Would you believe it? We had a stupid argument, about food. She'd attempted to cook something, the silly goose, and of course she'd burnt it.' She hid her face, but she chuckled through her tears. 'We shouted at each other, and she fled to the other side of the world in tears. I tried so hard to find her,' she dissolved into tears herself, her shoulders shaking. 'But before I knew it, that Amatsu-Mikaboshi had stolen her to be his bride. It was such a stupid fight, it never should have happened. I should have told her I'm sorry,' around them, more clouds formed, and it gently started to rain. 'And I should have told her I loved her.'

'Don't worry about it,' InuYasha said, crossing his arms. 'I'll definitely get Tsukuyomi back.'

She paused, then smiled up at him. 'Are you sure?'

'I'm sure.' He grinned, with his usual bravado.

'Then I'll definitely have to give you my blessing of longevity.'

'Yep, you definitely will.' He responded, grinning, his eyes already wandering back to the castle, and she stood, the rain pattering out.

'I should probably go, before Hachiman-san gets cross with me.' She said, brushing herself off, before waving at him. 'I wish you luck!'

'Thanks.' He said, and she turned and left the clearing, the clouds clearing from the sky.

'No problem.' her voice drifted back as she disappeared from sight, and he leapt back into his tree, his eyes peeled on that gate.

* * *

**To anyone wondering, that is actually (according to Shinto mythology) how Amaterasu-Kamisama, Tsukuyomi-kamisama, and Amatsu-Mikaboshi was created. The only part of that that I changed was the gender of Amaterasu-Kamisama, who is originally male. As for now, Tsukuyomi-Kamisama has never been captured, and continues to, well, do moon goddess things as she pleases, as does Amaterasu-Kamisama. **

**Also, the two kamis actually did fight, which is why they are now on opposing sides of the earth, but neither regrets it, apparently. They're happy where they are.**

**So there's your Shinto mythology lesson for the week!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, let me know if you did!**


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